Faith Love and Hope as a Counterforce to Evil

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The Task of Anthroposophy

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TIn the 5th Post Atlantean Epoch T

Two Lectures given

by
Adriana Koulias
in
Sydney
23rd of March and 6th of April

Faith Love and Hope as a Counterforce to Evil:

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The Task of Anthroposophy in the 5th Post Atlantean Epoch

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Part I: The Mystery of Evil: Doubt, Hate and Fear. The Double and the
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Superdouble and the incarnation of the Antichrist T

Spiritual Science teaches us that the task of Evil is to promote the ascent of man. Evil we
are told resides both in us and in the outside world and is a necessary force in the
perfection and liberation of the human being through the overcoming of hindrance and
temptation.

This may seem a little strange at first, but in the same way we know that something is
sweet because it is not sour and cold because we know hot, the freedom to unfold new
forces and higher capacities could not have been possible had humanity remained always
subject to higher spiritual powers who are only capable of knowing good.

The experience of Evil has given humanity a look a both sides and in this experience lies
the secret of freedom and independence . That is, by directing its gaze away from worlds
of spirit towards the world of physical matter humanity would one day be able to discern
for itself in freedom the difference between Good and Evil.

So you might ask the question: what do we do when we discover the difference? Do we
root out all evil – as we are called on to do by many of the political voices of today? To
believe that you should root out evil is about the same as saying that we should do away
with gravity and have only levity. This way of thinking is based solely on dualism and
creates more evil again. But how can we ignore it? What is the answer? Rudolf Steiner
tells us that the answer lies in Balance, for opposing forces are necessary for our
evolution, without them as we have seen above, we would not have been able to progress.

How then do we find a balance?

Rudolf Steiner tells us that the balance exits in the Being of Christ and that it is through
Him, and following the middle way that we can begin to redeem evil.
In the past man has been guided from external sources, that is, from church, priest and the
law to know evil, but in our Epoch of the Consciousness Soul, we are called on to have a
free, inner knowledge and conviction concerning evil as a principle task, to the extent that
we can prepare for the coming sixth epoch.

Tonight we will explore the mysteries of Evil as they were known to mystery schools of
ancient times, made appropriate for today’s humanity by Rudolf Steiner. We will explore
evil on a macrocosmic and microcosmic level, that is, we will investigate the cosmic
origins and existence of

1. Luciferic beings – Lucifer - Devil

2. Ahrimanic beings – Ahriman - Satan
3. Asuric beings – Asuras

Also, we will learn how they manifest within the microcosm of man paying particular
attention to their influence on the development of Fear, Hatred and Doubt in preparation
for the incarnation of the Ahriman in our present Post Atlantean age. This incarnation
will pave the way for another being,

4. The Antichrist – Sorath – The Beast

who will attempt to replace the most important supersensible event of our Epoch - the
manifestation of Christ - with his own physical manifestation on earth. Next week we
will look at how we must go about redeeming evil through the Christ impulse working
through the being of Anthroposophia and her physical manifestation on earth the
Anthroposophical society.

What is Evil?

Rudolf Steiner tells us that the forces that appear at the wrong place appear as evil. What
does this mean? In order to answer this question a study of Rudolf Steiner’s cosmic
evolution of the earth is necessary.

Rudolf Steiner calls the first rudimentary earthly aeon ‘Old Saturn’ in which the physical
body of human beings was first elaborated. The second aeon is called ‘Old Sun’ where
the human Etheric body was first elaborated. The third aeon is called ‘Old Moon’ where
the human Astral body was elaborated. On Earth humanity has received its individual
‘Ego’ and become ‘Human’.

Human Beings:

Old Saturn – Physical Body – Mineral like

Old Sun – Etheric Body – Plant like
Old Moon – Astral Body – Animal like
Earth – Ego – Spirit
While humanity was passing through the condition of mineral, plant and animal other
beings were undergoing their own evolution and their own ‘human’ stage. On ‘Old
Saturn’ beings three stages higher than man - the Archai - were passing through their
‘human’ stage. On the ‘Old Sun’ those beings two stages higher than man from the rank
of beings known as Archangels were undergoing their human stage and on the ‘Old
Moon’, Rudolf Steiner tells us that Angels, only one stage higher than man, were
undergoing their ‘human’ stage.

Old Saturn – Archai – Human stage

Old Sun – Archangels – Human stage
Old Moon – Angels – Human stage
Earth – Man – Human stage

This evolution however was only true for those beings that were able to reach the goal set
before them. Those who fell short or could not rise to the task were left behind and had to
make up for what they could not achieve ‘normally’ in their own time, at a future aeon.
These beings suffer a great deal when they try to continue their evolution at a time when
conditions are not suited to them as this means they have to work within incredible
restrictions. The only way for these beings to alleviate their suffering is to step out of
bounds, to overstep the boundaries created by their retardation. This ‘overstepping’ can
be seen as a hindrance to human beings for it occurs in the realm where humans are now
developing their egos on Earth. This hindrance is what Rudolf Steiner refers to as ‘evil’.

We will put aside for a moment the fact that these beings sacrificed themselves in this
way so that human beings might develop through overcoming the hindrances that they
cause, for this would lead us too far from our present topic. We will continue however,
by saying that there are three kinds of Spirits of Opposition who fell behind and they are
named after their respective leaders:

Asuric beings – Fell behind on Saturn – Fallen Spirits of Form working as Archais
Ahrimanic beings – Fell behind on Sun – Fallen Archai working as Archangels
Luciferic beings – Fell behind on Moon –Fallen archangels working as angels

The Asuric beings make a particular endeavour to penetrate the physical body of man as
this sphere relates to the sphere that was being elaborated on Old Saturn when these
beings were developing their ‘human stage’ and fell behind.

The Ahrimanic beings desire to work in the Etheric body of human beings as this is the
sphere that was being elaborated on Old Sun when these beings were developing their
‘human stage’

The Luciferic beings feel most at home in the Astral body of human beings as this relates
to what was being elaborated on Old Moon when these beings fell behind.
In these respective bodies these spirits find an opportunity for their own development.

In the soul of human beings these ‘tempters’ or spirits of hindrance can be found:

In the three body members:

1. Astral body – Lucifer - Lemuria
2. Etheric body – Ahriman - Atlantis
3. Physical body – Asuras – Present Post Atlantean Epoch
In the Soul members:
1. Sentient soul – Lucifer - Egypt
2. Intellectual soul – Ahriman – Greco Roman
3. Consciousness soul - Asuras – Anglo Germanic
In the Ego:
1. Sorath – in future times.

Lucifer began his approach on the human Astral body in the Lemurian Epoch of Earth
evolution through the nerves and senses and slipped into the unconscious elaboration of
the ego on the Astral body, which produced the Sentient Soul.

Ahriman made his foray into the human being during the Atlantean Epoch of Earth
evolution and found a suitable influence on the Etheric body through the Intellectual soul
that is the unconscious elaboration by the ego on the Etheric body.

Asuras have been making their approach towards humanity only since our Epoch into the
soul faculty that results from the unconscious elaboration of the physical body, the
Consciousness soul.

But there is another being. This being ‘the beast from the Abyss’ as the Apocalypse calls
him had fallen behind in an epoch prior to Old Saturn and does not belong to Earthly
evolution. Nevertheless he inhabits the sun and is known by the Greeks as the Sun
Demon Sorath. He works contrary to the ‘Intelligence’ of the Sun as a fallen Elohim and
therefore works contrary to the Sun being the divinity of Christ. His number is 666 (six
being the number that denotes imperfection) and will only enter directly into the human
evolution through the three categories of beings - three sets of sixes.

Spiritual Science recognises the task of this being Sorath in our 5th Post Atlantean Epoch
as that of co-ordinating the three streams of evil against the healthy development of
humanity, in preparation for the incarnation of Ahriman who will attempt to distort the
second coming in the Astral world of Christ in Etheric garment. This second coming
began in the middle of last century and will continue until the 6th Epoch. It is imperative
that a clear wide-awake consciousness concerning the workings of evil in the world be
developed. It is the first and foremost task of Anthroposophy today to lead humanity in
this task in the 5th Epoch as a preparation for the future.

Sorath’s Attacks on Humanity:

Sorath can be seen working into human evolution since the seventh century. The first
onslaught on humanity occurred in 666 AD, three hundred and thirty three years after the
middle of the Greco Roman epoch (333) through the establishment of the Academy of
Gondhishapur. Created through a co-operation of Luciferic and Ahrimanic spirits this
Academy sought to bring about a consciousness soul impulse ahead of time in order to
Ahrimanise the Consciousness soul - a soul member that we are only developing in our
present epoch. This would have prevented the proper development of the Spirit Self and
as a result, affected the development of the other two higher members Life Spirit and
Spirit Man. Jesus was born 333 years before the middle of the Greco Roman epoch – his
future sacrifice as Christ Jesus in 33 AD counter balanced what was to occur in 666.

Another onslaught came in the form of the complete and utter destruction of the Templar
order. The Cathars, whose Manichean knowledge concerning good and evil stood in
opposition to Sorath’s goals were also hunted down, tortured and burnt. Their spiritual
cousins the Templars whose task of inaugurating a ‘Christened’ social order in
preparation for the 6th Epoch were incarcerated tortured made to confess to despicable
crimes and murdered. The Order was abolished through the co-operation of Pope
Clement (possessed by a Luciferic spirit) and Philip king of France (possessed by an
Ahrimanic Spirit). In our times the above two attacks, the establishment of the Academy
of Gondishapur and the destruction of the Cathars and the Templar order have been
greatly strengthened by the entry of a new being in the service of the Sun Demon, Asuras
who wishes to destroy humanity’s connection with the Ego through the Consciousness or
Spiritual soul. It is the action of all three categories of beings: Luciferic, Ahrimanic and
Asuric in the service of Sorath that resulted in the reflection of the above two attacks in
Bolshevism (Gondishapur) and Nazism (Destruction of Templar order) - National
Socialism. The development of secret lodges over and against the impulse of
Rosicrucianism and the rise of Jesuitism in opposition to the Grail impulses have been
other incursions into the development of the human spirit.

A third manifestation of Sorath through the three streams of evil has already begun
(1998) and will find its culmination in the near future seeking to materialise the human
ego. It is important today in the 21st century to know how these three streams of evil
guided by a fourth present themselves in the human being, the outer world and in the
cosmos

The Three Streams of Evil in the Human Being.

The human being is not so insular as he may imagine. In every breath, in every
perception, in every intake of food, in every sensation, thought and act of will human
beings are accompanied by beings of a spiritual nature. We have seen how Luciferic and
Ahrimanic beings have entered into the human soul during evolution, and it is a fact that
they live side by side with elemental beings (detachments of higher beings) and higher
beings that regulate our Physical, Etheric and Astral bodies.

Three Streams of Evil and Good and how they appear in man:
The divine powers or the first hierarchy are connected to our physical bodies and the will
forces in our souls, the solar hierarchy or the 2nd hierarchy have more to do with our
Etheric bodies and the feeling forces in the soul, the third hierarchy is more connected to
the Astral body and the thinking forces in the soul. Therefore Angels as representatives of
the third hierarchy in the soul have to do with thinking. Archangels as representatives of
the 2nd hierarchy in the soul have to do with feeling. Archais as representatives of the
first hierarchy in the soul have more to do with the will.

Apart from the higher and lower spiritual beings that have access to the human body and
soul there are also offspring of higher hierarchies (detachments) these are the elemental
beings that weave in and out of our physical bodies, in all our physical and soul
processes. We will not go into this too deeply, suffice to say that the moral disposition of
a human being is of the greatest importance to the above beings, since their own
evolution is dependant upon it. If a man is moral then insofar as he is, he can liberate
these beings so that they may progress to higher stages of existence. If a human being is
not moral then he traps good elemental beings in his various sheaths and these beings
become the prey (because they have no ego) of beings of opposition. Under the yoke of
the opposing beings the elemental spirits become Ahrimanic, Luciferic or Asuric
according to their disposition and where they have a scene of action, and become
detached from the human being as demons, ghosts and spectres.

Rudolf Steiner tells us that we create three beings that become a part of us throughout our
lives. The Luciferic element allowed to take root in the thinking, inasmuch as it is
connected to the Astral body and the Astral realm of angels, creates a beast or double of
‘Doubt’. Doubt in spiritual things prevents humanity from creatively working in
knowledge and leads to fantasy and illusion.
The Ahrimanic element allowed to take root in the feeling inasmuch as it is connected to
the Etheric body and lower Devachanic realm of the Archangels creates a ‘beast’ or
double of Hatred, which prevents human beings from working in love towards spiritual
ends, this leaves the soul hollow.

The Asuric element in our will inasmuch as it is connected to the physical body and
therefore the Higher Devachanic realm of the Archai leads to the creation of a beast or
double of Fear or cowardice when it comes to the creative spiritual ‘being’, which leaves
human beings vulnerable to attacks from earthly forces.

The Earthly Ethers and the Double

The effect of the above beings of opposition on the Astral body, Etheric body and
physical body weakens them, leaving the human being vulnerable to negative earthly
forces.

In the same way that retarded beings influence the creation of retarded soul forces so too
do negative Etheric energies that exist in the world influence the creation of retarded
Etheric forces in the human being.

A combination of retarded forces created by the influence of retarded

beings in the Physical, Etheric and Astral bodies and the retarded or degenerated Etheric
energies that create retarded Etheric forces in the human being, these various doubles or
shadow forces can be said to collectively form one being that Spiritual Science calls the
personal ‘double’ or doppelganger. He forms, according to Rudolf Steiner, a part of the
‘Lesser Guardian of the Threshold’ whose existence in us from birth to death bars our
spiritual progress:

‘…There arises the phenomenon known as the Guardian of the Threshold — the
appearance of the lower double of man. The spiritual being of man, composed of his
impulses of will, his desires and his thoughts, appears to the Initiate in visible form. It is a
form that is sometimes repugnant and terrible, for it is the offspring of his good and bad
desires and of his karma — it is their personification in the astral world…’
Put another way we may say that the influence of Ahriman, Lucifer, and Asuras on the
being of man cause there to arise: beings of doubt hatred and fear of the spiritual in the
Astral body, the Etheric body and in the Physical body and that this attracts forces that
help to create and maintain a collective personal double, one and the same as that being
that Rudolf Steiner calls the Lesser Guardian of the Threshold, that becomes apparent to
us as soon as we enter the spiritual world as a separate entity that is at once composed of
the three beasts of our creation and also separate from them. See Above image, called
"The Doppelganger" from a drawing made by Rudolph Steiner for a stained glass
window. It depicts the serpentine nature of the double showing the 7 Chakras. He comes
from a crack in the earth, delineating his connection to the degenerated earthly forces.
The human being sitting on the mountaintop of objectivity must send out beneficent
spiritual forces to heal and transform the double.

Rudolf Steiner Characterises these beasts or doubles to imaginative consciousness:

The double or beast of doubt is red and has a glassy eye

The double or beast of hatred is spotted yellow and bares his teeth
The double or beast of fear is blue and has a bony mind

It is this third being that lies in our will and therefore our physical bodies that make us
especially vulnerable to earthly forces and allows their entry into the human being.

The Three Streams of Evil in the Macrocosmic World

Rudolf Steiner tells us that what forms a part of the inner man during life becomes the
outer world after death, we can call this a law of ‘Inversion’:

“At first, man has within him what he later sees around him…All that lives today in the
inner being of man, his thoughts, his feelings, will find expression in the outer world and
become his surroundings. The future lies within man.”

We can therefore say that human beings are instrumental in creating the outer world or
cosmos, through inner work or lack thereof.

Having this in mind we will proceed in our exploration of the connection that exists
between the double of man and the fallen ethers.

What are the fallen ethers?

After the ‘fall’ when Adam ate from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge or became a
conscious being, through the entry of Lucifer into his Astral body, it was deemed that
humanity should only retain knowledge of the Warmth and Light Ethers, the other two;
Sound and Life Ethers were protected and guarded in spiritual worlds (Tree of Life) lest
they become the prey of retarded forces. Rudolf Steiner tells us that we have the physical
world, the astral world, Lower Devachan and Higher Devachan. There is also what
Rudolf Steiner calls the sub-physical world;
When light Ether decays and is thrust down into the sub-material world, a stage deeper
than the material world — electricity arises. Light therefore finds its reflection in the
substratum of the earth in Electricity. In man this has its counterpart in Thinking.
When Chemical Ether decays and is driven down beneath the physical plane into the evil
Devachanic world — magnetism arises. Sound finds its reflection in the substratum of the
earth as magnetism. In man this has its counterpart in Feeling.
If what lives in higher Devachan as Life Ether decays and is thrust down further still, into
the province of the Asuras, what arises is characterised by Rudolf Steiner as ‘an even
more terrible force — which it will not be possible to keep hidden very much longer’.
The realm of the Atom. He goes on to say,
‘It can only be hoped that when this force comes to be known — a force we must
conceive as being far, far stronger than the most violent electrical discharge — it can only
be hoped that before some discoverer gives this force into the hands of humankind, men
will no longer have anything immoral left in them.’
Life Ether has its counterpart, its reflection in the substratum of the earth in a kind of
radioactivity. In man this has its counterpart in the human will.

When light Ether decays and is thrust down into the sub-material world, a stage deeper
than the material world — electricity arises. Light therefore finds its reflection in the
substratum of the earth in Electricity. In man this has its counterpart in Thinking.
When Chemical Ether decays and is driven down beneath the physical plane into the evil
Devachanic world — magnetism arises. Sound finds its reflection in the substratum of the
earth as magnetism. In man this has its counterpart in Feeling.
If what lives in higher Devachan as Life Ether decays and is thrust down further still, into
the province of the Asuras, what arises is characterised by Rudolf Steiner as ‘an even
more terrible force — which it will not be possible to keep hidden very much longer’.
The realm of the Atom. He goes on to say,
‘It can only be hoped that when this force comes to be known — a force we must
conceive as being far, far stronger than the most violent electrical discharge — it can only
be hoped that before some discoverer gives this force into the hands of humankind, men
will no longer have anything immoral left in them.’
Life Ether has its counterpart, its reflection in the substratum of the earth in a kind of
radioactivity. In man this has its counterpart in the human will.

The extent to which humanity does or does not achieve this task will determine the
conditions that will be made possible for, on the one hand the physical manifestation of
the Antichrist and on the other, the spiritual incarnation of the Christ being.

How does this relate to the Sub-Suprahuman double Ahriman?

In our own 5th Post Atlantean Cultural Epoch there occurs a similar curve on a
microcosmic level. At the beginning of this Post Atlantean Epoch the Indian Epoch there
was a reflection of the physical generation of ether forces until the Greco Roman Epochs
- the mystery of Golgotha. If not for the mystery of Golgotha mankind would not have
been able to climb upwards to the spirit due to an increasing influence on man from the
degenerative forces of electricity, magnetism and the power of the Atom. These would
have gained the upper hand. Christ however, descended into the Plutonian depths on
Easter Saturday that is, into the sub nature of the earth and there ‘fettered’ Ahriman and
Asuras for a time (a European aspect of this is the ancient Rite of the Sacrificial King as
practiced within the cultures of the Celts) and as a consequence Sorath. This made it
possible for man to overcome the forces of physical death with spiritual life. For if
Ahriman had not been bound then materialism would not just be an attitude of life but an
evil disease. From the time of the Mystery of Golgotha onwards man was given a choice,
he could begin to prepare himself for his future task of ennobling the evil degenerative
forces of death and decay by working with the forces of light (Faith) chemical or sound
(Love) and life (Hope) Ethers or he could reject this possibility and sink down to the
abyss.

If man rejects this possibility (taking into account that each individual human being
creates for himself the double as an aggregate of the materialistic thoughts feelings and
deeds of will that attract and add to the negative Etheric in his being), it stands to reason
that the creation and nurturing of this double will not merely have an effect on the
individual human being but also on the world around him – in the surrounding Ether – in
the creation of a super or sub suprahuman double – the great double that will provide a
fitting vehicle for the incarnation of Ahriman.

How will it provide for the incarnation of Ahriman the emissary of the Sun Demon?

§ Deadened materialistic thoughts that become corpses in the human brain feed the
degenerated light Ether – electricity or darkness – in the sub physical or Evil Astral world
from which the Astral body will be created into which the demonic ego of Ahriman can
light up.

§ Hatred of the spirit and a lack of love for the spiritual, including the spiritual work of
others, hollows out and deadens the human soul and will intensify the degenerated Sound
or Chemical Ether – Magnetism – in the sub-physical or Evil Lower Devachan from
which the opposing powers will weave the Etheric body of Ahriman.

§ Fear paralyses human moral will and this will further intensify the power of
degenerated Life Ether – power of the Atom – in the sub-physical or Evil Higher
Devachan. From it will come the knowledge necessary for creating the physical body of
Ahriman.

The three bodies of Ahriman will be formed from: the Astral corpses of human thoughts,
vibrations issuing from the hearts and larynxes of human beings filled with hatred and
immoral feelings and the division and separation of human beings from the moral deed,
the higher hierarchies and their Karma through fear.

Ahriman is destined to incarnate around three thousand years after the birth of Christ in a
physical body, as a counterbalance to Lucifer’s incarnation three thousand years before
the birth of Christ in China. His birth has been in preparation since the year 1998. He will
not be an ordinary man, he will be a super or subsuprahuman. This means that he will not
only have a physical body, but also a subsupraphysical body a body of elemental and
Luciferic, Ahrimanic and Asuric beings that possess higher members (eg Spirit Self and
Life Spirit Spirit man) at his disposal. If this incarnation follows those laws that guide the
incarnations of higher (Bodhisattva) beings, then Ahriman will ascend into the three
sheaths created for him by a human vessel. This time however, this human vessel will
have no ego . This physical ‘being’, will allow the ego of Ahriman to enter into it, around
its twenty ninth to thirtieth year and Ahriman will begin the work of elaborating these
three sheaths into an Ahrimanised retarded form of microcosmic Spirit Self, Life Spirit
and Spirit Man. Through him will work the intentions of the being of Sorath the Beast of
the Apocalypse. Sorath a being who fell behind before Old Saturn, does not belong to our
earthly evolution and will enter into Earthly evolution only in the Apocalyptic future. He
will need all the hosts of Lucifer, Ahriman and Asuras and the sub-earthly ethers that
have been intensified by the sub-suprahuman Ahrimanic double and the individual
human beings that have taken his impulses right down into their various sheaths. These
shall be his limbs his organs of sense his internal organs, and they will bring his thoughts
and intentions, his hatred and his unwavering will to incarnation.

This may very well happen sooner than later depending on the strength of the Ahrimanic
double. For it may be possible for Sorath to enter into the physically incarnated Ahriman
even in our own epoch and inspire him in his sheaths – a pseudo-incarnation for Sorath.

The totality of beings working for Sorath/Ahriman over and against the impulse of Christ
is what John describes as the ‘Antichrist’ . However it must be pointed out that the
strength of such an attack on the Christ impulse will depend on whether humanity is able
to raise itself toward the spirit.

What will Ahriman be like?

§ He will be extremely intelligent. Possessed of a great powerful genius and cold intellect
that will assure the faith of the unwary. He will set up a great school of Occultism
(Lodges) where black magic will be taught. Those who follow him will take the
‘materialism’ that exists in thought (Astral body) all the way down into their Etheric
bodies and will harden them so that these Etheric bodies remain intact after death
(Ahrimanic immortality). These hardened Etheric bodies will distort the image of the
Etheric Christ in the Astral world bordering the earth.
§ He will exude a profound magnetism that will draw human beings with its power - his
‘voice’ will have the ability to mesmerize and hypnotise those who listen without
discrimination and he will make what is immoral ‘sound’ honourable, good and justified
(The Sauruman of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings comes to mind) Hatred will guide his
every action, but from him will come the teachings concerning the nature of the lower
passions and their connections to clairvoyance – Kundalini Tantra that leads to
ceremonial sexual rituals accessing the lower Etheric forces are an example of this. Also,
consenting ritual murder and cannibalism, which is of a sexual nature, is another step
again. He will be responsible for promulgating only the biblical version of Christ’s life as
a literal, material account of a man’s life, rejecting His divinity and resurrection (note the
film ‘The Passion’ and its obsession with the death and failure to continue on towards an
understanding of the resurrection and the becoming). Ahriman will be more charismatic
than the powerless human Jesus that will everywhere be portrayed.
§ His will shall have no restraint and he will yield the power of the members
(suprahuman) of his being with a violent and concentrated force that will encourage those
who are weak of spirit to follow him Those who do not will be made to suffer unbearable
persecution. This will be made possible by firstly destroying the will, through the will
preventing the elaboration of the consciousness soul which finally leads to either a
bonding of the Ego with the physical body or a driving out of the ego altogether. A pale
example of this destruction of the ‘will’ of a people occurred in Eastern Europe during
the reign of the Bolsheviks when sixty million people were murdered and many more
were sent to work camps in Siberia. Today we see a very subliminal form in the new laws
against terrorism that give the State unprecedented powers over suspects. The holding of
suspects at the military institution at Guantanamo Bay without trial is a prime example of
the beginnings of the attack on human civil rights and liberties, which will spread across
the world like a wild fire through Fear. From there, it is a short step to the entire
domination of human will and its subsequent subjugation to the powers that wish to
destroy the ego.

In 1780 Galvani began experiments leading to the discovery of electricity. In 1845

Faraday concluded that all matter must contain magnetism and in 1932 the artificial
splitting of the lithium nucleus by neutron bombardment lead to the discovery of atomic
power. The degeneration of ethers has begun in our Post Atlantean Epoch and will have
its culmination in the seventh Age of Earth Evolution.
Today we see the signs of the preparation for Ahriman’s arrival. We see the signs of his
coming. Materialism has reached its zenith in the middle of the last century. The
materialistic thoughts feelings and will of human beings entering the world between
death and rebirth then spread a dark cloak over the spiritual world, creating a darkening
in the realm of the First hierarchy, leading to a certain intensification of the fallen ethers
in the Sub-physical realms which resulted in a manifestation of the power of the Beast in
Nazism, Bolshevism and the discovery of the power of the Atom. This caused a sacrifice
of Christ consciousness in the Astral world.

In the Rosicrucian Mysteries initiates have always known regarding the cross upon which
Christ is and will continue to be sacrificed in the Spiritual world.
If human beings do not open their eyes and acquire concrete occult knowledge as a
counterforce to evil then humanity will be helpless in the face of the future incarnation of
Ahriman and the physical manifestation through Ahriman of his master Sorath.

Already, in our 5th cultural Epoch we observe Ahriman’s incarnation, a worldwide web
of electromagnetic currents criss-cross the earth’s surface. Microwave towers and high-
rise buildings pulsing with electricity replace the ancient pyramids and obelisks on the
horizons of human cities. Sky Satellites have taken the place of the divine worship of the
Stars that have guided our ancestors on their journeys. We seek to explore the planets
(corpses of the past) instead of learning in a meditative way to come to a communion
with the living spiritual counterparts of these corpses. Pulse generators, lasers and
Nuclear medicine have taken the place of healing with the hands and the heart. Digital
processors pump out numerical formulas that drown out the harmony of the spheres. The
premature destruction of the physical sheaths through, Drug addiction, the building up of
the animalistic nature through sport, vitamin and mineral supplements, the use of animal
steroids and through sexual rituals, heavy metal music, television etc. The destruction of
the physical sheaths of the earth through, pollution of the air water and soil, the cutting
down of rainforests, unsustainable farming practices, the raping of the seas and the
mineral earth.

All of it can be seen even with the eye not focussed on the spiritual. Everywhere the
human being is surrounded by fallen ethers that have been allowed to break out of their
rightful domains. Everywhere elemental beings enter into humans from the kingdom of
nature spirits to be enchanted and released according to the moral disposition of their
host. Everywhere the spiritual researcher can see the created phantoms (Asuras),
ghosts/spectres (Ahriman) and demons (Lucifer) that have become detached from human
beings as a result of prejudice (the forces of Fear in the Will life), lovelessness (the forces
of Hatred in the Feeling life), untruth and hypocrisy (the forces of Doubt in the Thinking
life).
All of the above has its place in human evolution as the earth is meant to die and become
a corpse, however human beings are not meant to follow the earth into the abyss, they are
meant to rise up in consciousness and spiritually, taking with them what they can redeem
(as a seed) of the Luciferic the Ahrimanic and Asuric elements towards a future
evolutionary stage when the earth will be reborn anew.

How are we meant to accomplish this task?

The answer to this question lies in what we as individuals can do who gather together in
the name of Anthroposophy through the work of the four mystery streams renewed by
Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference in 1924. To learn to recognise and overcome
Doubt, Fear and Hatred of the spirit in our own souls, by replacing them with Faith,
Love, and Hope must become our standard and it must begin in our epoch if we hope to
weaken the power of the Ahriman and subsequently the Antichrist in future times.
Otherwise we will incarnate in the Sixth Cultural Epoch to find we are like the farmer
who did not sow seeds and bemoans the lack of a harvest. We shall have not prevented
the great calamities that will come, and the resulting inevitable human suffering.

The best counterforce is to work in knowledge. Knowledge (Michaelic intelligence), is

the first step in recognising and redeeming these forces. Ahriman himself tells us in
Goethe’s Faust,

“I will not grudge my praise before thou goest, for well I see that thou the Devil
knowest.”

Next week we will discuss the renewed Mystery Streams that work through the being of
Anthroposophy in leading mankind to the four paths of knowledge:

1. To awaken spirituality in human beings - Rosicrucian stream

2. To announce the Cosmic Christ – Grail Stream
3. To uncover and redeem evil – Manichean Stream
4. To create conditions for the future – Templar Stream

Faith Love and Hope as a Counterforce to Evil:

T T

The Task of Anthroposophy in the 5th Post Atlantean Epoch

T T

Part II: The Mysteries of the Good. Faith, Love and Hope. The four
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mystery streams renewed and the four tasks of Anthroposophy. T

I will begin today with a quote by Rudolf Steiner.

“The only way to combat the influence of these Ahrimanic Beings is to realise that
against certain aims of Ahriman nothing avails except to see through him, to know that he
is there. I have indicated this repeatedly in the Mystery Plays; think only of the end of the
last Play. The Fifth Post-Atlantean epoch must evolve to the stage where many human
beings address the Ahrimanic Powers and Beings as Faust addresses Mephistopheles: “In
thy Nothingness I hope to find the All.”

Last week we explored the mysteries of Evil. We saw how human beings are the scene of
action for spiritual beings of hindrance and Etheric forces and how insofar as we are
influenced by them we bring into existence a being that Spiritual Science calls the
‘Double’. We also saw how this double is made up of forces that are derived both from
man and the outer world with respect to the fallen ethers. We looked at how this double
that exists in every human being will contribute to the forces that will build up the bodies
of the great sub - suprahuman Ahrimanic double that will incarnate in a physical body in
our century. We also saw how Ahriman will create not only the perfect conditions for the
inspiration of Sorath in his three sheaths, but also the physical manifestation of the
‘Antichrist’ as a totality of the forces of evil that will be in direct opposition to the
spiritual manifestation of Christ.

Rudolf Steiner has said that we do not have the right attitude towards these spirits of
opposition when we merely say that something must be done about them! That they must
be fought! He says this is no different to asking a stove to become nice and warm but
neglecting to turn it on. For just as we must engage our feeling in the need for heat and
we have to engage our thinking in order to understand the workings of the stove we must
also engage our will in turning it on!

This is what we must do tonight, engage our feeling thinking and will in order to
recognise the need, understand the workings so that we might do the deed.

Tonight we will explore the specific nature of the mysteries of the Good working through
Faith, Love and Hope to redeem evil in the world and in Man through the inspiration of
the four mystery streams working through the being of Anthroposophia.

The Sun Mysteries of the Good – The Cosmic Christ

The mysteries of the Good, the mysteries of the Cosmic Christ have been known since
the first Cultural Epoch of our 5th Post Atlantean Age. The Indians saw the Redeemer
descending to earth, the mighty sun being, as Rama or Vishvakarman or Krishna, the
Persians saw the Redeemer as Ormuz, the Egypto Chaldeans saw Him as Osiris, the
Jewish people saw Him as Jehova, and the Greeks as Apollo. It was only in the late
Greco Roman times that the human being experienced the physical incarnation of this
Cosmic God.

The Mysteries of Death

Rudolf Steiner tells us that the single most significant event in world evolution was the
‘Mystery of Golgotha’ or the death of Christ on the Cross. A God had to incarnate into a
physical body, to know death and overcome it as an archetype for the rest of humankind.
A God had to pass through the experience of birth and death, something unknown to the
gods in order that His body might enter into the earth and become one with it. Human
beings then, through having taken this body of Christ into their own sheaths, would one
day be able to overcome death, the death of consciousness in spiritual realms - through
Christ man overcomes Death.

Since that time humanity has been preparing for the possibility of working consciously
with the Christ Impulse, passively accepting the help of the Christ Being because it had
not yet developed the necessary faculties. In our 5th Post Atlantean Cultural Epoch, the
Epoch of the Consciousness Soul or Spiritual Soul humanity is called on to stand beside
Christ in the battle against Evil. Human beings will stand together with Christ as His
brothers and sisters and will overcome evil with Christ as they overcame Death through
Him. And it will be through the Christ within man that the gods will come to understand
the meaning of Evil , as they once understood Death through Him. The difference is that
this time humanity will not be a passive participator but an active participator. This is a
most important point.

What does this mean to be an Active Participator?

Firstly we must bear in mind what we have said before. Human beings are constantly
influenced by spiritual beings that live in their three sheaths. These beings find their
scene of action where it suits them from the standpoint of their evolution. That is
Luciferic beings that should have undergone their human aspect on the Moon where the
Astral body of human beings was elaborated, find in the human Astral body and
particularly the sentient soul a suitable environment for furthering their evolution. This
goes for the other two categories of beings: The Ahrimanic beings seek to further their
evolution in that part of the Etheric body they can access through the Intellectual soul and
the Asuric beings in that part of the physical body accessed through the consciousness
soul. We’ve seen how the fallen Etheric forces work on the three sheaths when they are
weakened by these beings of opposition and how a composite of these results in a double
which, in the Astral world represents the lower aspects of the human being that are yet to
be redeemed.

The mysteries of the Good as taught in the mystery schools of ancient times teaches
concerning the good counter-forces to evil.

What are these good counter - forces?

In the same way that negative spiritual beings help to create, and at the same time are
attracted, to the negative forces in man, so do the higher (good) spiritual beings help to
create and are attracted to the positive counterforces that arise in the developing human
being.

Firstly we must understand how higher spiritual beings relate to man.

§ In the thinking human beings are connected primarily to their Angel as a representative
of the entire third hierarchy (Angels Archangels Archai). Through thinking individual
human beings guided by their angels are connected to the whole of humanity.
§ In the sphere of Feeling human beings are connected to the Archangelic sphere as a
representative of the second hierarchy (Spirits of Form, Spirits of Motion, Spirits of
Wisdom). Through the feeling life individual human beings are connected to their
country or folk or group.

§ In the sphere of Will human beings are connected to the Archai who represent the entire
first hierarchy (Spirits of Will, Spirits of Harmony and Spirits of Love). In the will the
individual human being lives alone in himself.

It is therefore to these three categories of beings Angels, Archangels, and Archai, (insofar
as they come from the closest hierarchy to human beings and therefore can work directly
with them as representatives of the higher hierarchies) that we must turn to for help.

How do we attract the attention of these sublime spiritual helpers?

Since 1879 when the Archangel Michael cast out the spirits of darkness from the Astral
world, knowledge of the spirit could be imparted to humanity in general. Since that time
the task fell upon Rudolf Steiner as a pupil of Christian Rosencreutz to renew the four
mystery streams that have since ancient times imparted the knowledge concerning the
Mysteries of Good and Evil to the world. This he accomplished through the being of
Anthroposophy working as a daughter of the Divine Sophia guiding modern mankind in
the development of the soul towards self-knowledge (knowing the nature of the
individual double or the composite of negative Etheric forces and Soul forces).

Human beings who awaken spiritual faculties by working on the life of the soul
experience consciously what others experience in sleep or in the time between death and
rebirth in a less conscious way. This means that such human beings are in a position to
develop a closer relationship – or a more conscious relationship – to their guiding Angel.
And it is through the Angels working as representatives of the entire third hierarchy of
angels that the human being is able to interact with all three of the categories of beings,
Angels, Archangels and Archai who work as helpers to higher hierarchies in overcoming
evil. We see how important our relationship with our guiding angel is, as the ‘first line’ of
communication.

When human beings imbue their thoughts with spirituality so that they attain the quality
of universal imaginations, it is perceived in the realm of angels as light. In the same way
we perceive the stars, do higher beings perceive our spiritual thoughts as a lighting up of
their spiritual sky. This light is elaborated by these messengers of the first hierarchy (with
the help of the entire first hierarchy) into the gift of Spiritual Consciousness as a
protection against the doubt that Lucifer instils in man that manifests as a choking or
strangulation of spiritual thoughts.

All enthusiasm and fire of Love that strives earnestly towards the spiritual, all devotion
and reverence acquired for spiritual things flows out and is experienced as a cosmic
harmony in Lower Devachan that is heard by the Archangels. This cosmic harmony is the
food of the gods. This universal fire of love in which both human beings and Archangels
are working is further elaborated by the entire second hierarchy (Exusiai, Dynamis,
Kyriotetes) as the gift of Inspiration, as protection against the Hatred of the spirit that is
inspired by Ahriman.

When human beings develop courage born from knowledge of the Spirit that enters right
into the very ‘moral fibre’ as the power of Hope, this is experienced as the reflected word
or knowledge of Christ – Michaelic intelligence - in Higher Devachan by the Archais.
This creative intelligence is elaborated by the entire first hierarchy (Thrones, Cherubim,
Seraphim) into the gift of the faculty of Intuition that works to protect man from the
power of Asuras which exposes the being of man to negative Earthly forces.

Faith, Love and Hope therefore light up, resound and become creative in the soul through
Universal thoughts, Love and Moral Courage. This opens the gates of our Astral, Etheric
and physical bodies to the third hierarchy as representatives of the other two hierarchies
in readiness for the Christ-impulse or consciousness. It is precisely at this point - when
the Christ impulse enters in - that a transformation of the evil forces of the spirits of
opposition and our own double occurs. For we are told that once Evil forces come into
contact with the Christ Impulse working within soul sheaths of human beings these evil
forces are immediately transformed! This happens because retarded beings cannot evolve
further unless they can become united with the Christ Impulse as the central impulse of
our cosmos. They cannot do this on their own and need to do it through us. Through us
they find the right relationship to the hierarchies of beings to which they once belonged
and from which they chose to distance themselves in the past.

We can say it again another way thus: inasmuch as we oppose every temptation by the
three beings of Doubt, Hate and Fear in the soul that come from Lucifer, Ahriman and
Asuras, by counteracting them with the power of Faith – Imagination, Love – Inspiration
and Hope – Intuition, so shall it result in a transformation of the Astral body into its
spiritual counterpart the Spirit Self. The consciousness, which enters at the
transformation of the Astral body when we overcome temptation, is the consciousness of
Christ, which begins to descend even in our epoch, into the Spirit Self as the power of
Faith fully realised, whose light will redeem Lucifer and convert him into a servant of the
Christ Being . This transformation of the Astral body into Spirit Self finds its culmination
at the end of the future Jupiter incarnation of the earth.

Once this takes place in the Astral sheath of an individual he or she begins an ascent in
spirit while at the same time redeeming those elemental and spiritual beings that have
found a dwelling place in him or her, so that there is a reduction of the effect that
Ahriman’s incarnation will have, and therefore the attack on humanity by Sorath by
directing the degenerative forces to the service of the good. Rudolf Steiner calls this
transformation of Evil into good, Spiritual Alchemy.
“It was taught in Manecheism that from our age onwards the souls of men would begin to
transmute into good the evil which will manifest in full force in the sixth epoch. In other
words: human souls must be strong enough to bring good out of evil by a process of
spiritual alchemy.”
Spiritual Science imparts knowledge concerning the sacrifice of Christ in the Astral
world in the last century through materialistic thoughts – doubt and the subsequent
resurrection of Christ in the Astral body of man that is beginning in our time. The future
will see two more sacrifices through hate – egoism, and fear of the spirit, in Lower
Devachan, and Higher Devachan.

However the ancient mysteries have always known of the four streams that would one
day come together in order to combat the opposing forces and it was always portrayed to
its postulants in signs like the sign below.

The renewal of the Four Mysteries

The renewal of the four mystery streams and their synthesis out of the Modern Michaelic
Spirit, occurred at 1924 Christmas conference in the form of the setting of the Foundation
Stone of the Good over and against Evil by Rudolf Steiner.

What are the modern tasks of the Four renewed Mystery Streams?

All of us who are gathered here tonight belong to one of these streams and we should
acquaint ourselves with the modern tasks that are set before us by our various masters.

The renewed Rosicrucian Stream works with the light of spiritual thinking that descends
into the will and leads humanity towards the path of modern initiation. This will enable
the awakening and transformation of human thinking.

The renewed Grail Stream works in the spirit and leads humanity to a knowledge of
Christ and the Mystery of Golgotha through the Free Ego.

The renewed Manichean Stream works through a self-less Love that streams:
1. Upwards into thought as compassionate understanding – recognition of Evil
2. And downwards into the will as a deed of redemption through forgiveness and love –
Transformation of Evil

The renewed Templar Stream works in the sphere of the will as it rises upwards into the
imaginations towards the creation of a new social future in the threefolding of the social
organism - brotherhood. A social future where the individual will work conscientiously
for the good of the whole.

But what does this really mean for Anthroposophists?

It is a fact that to whom much is given, from him much is expected. That is, that those
who are blessed to have knowledge concerning these things, those who gather in
communities to learn concerning spiritual matters and to prepare for the future will
experience now, much that will come only in the next epoch to affect the greater part of
humanity. This occurs because knowledge that is given through the Being of
Anthroposophia is specifically intended to cause a transformation in the soul faculties, a
loosening of the connections between thinking feeling and will that will only occur
naturally in the next epoch. It is for this reason that Rudolf Steiner admonished that an
increase in knowledge must always be accompanied by a strengthening of moral forces,
for it is only by strengthening the moral forces in our thinking feeling and will through
the conscious power of the free ego that we can prevent the egoism and confusion that is
the inevitable result of the acquisition of knowledge.

If we are mindful of the law of inversion which tells us that everything that man
experiences inwardly at one point will be experienced outwardly at another we can say
that those who are working on their souls through the act of acquiring knowledge and
through the exercises for bringing balance to the soul will experience the torments trials
and temptations inwardly that will be experienced by the general population of the world
outwardly in the 6th epoch.

This transformation of the soul through knowledge and soul spiritual exercises given to
us by Rudolf Steiner in the supremely important books Occult Science, Knowledge of
Higher Worlds and Theosophy will cause a transformation of the human soul that will be
opposed directly and rejected inwardly by those very beings and influences mentioned in
our last lecture, that have taken root in the being of man. The opposition of the ‘double’
to transformation is not only relative to the effort applied in learning and in ennobling,
but will also be influenced more and more by where a person lives geographically in
relation to the fallen ethers, power lines, microwave towers, etc. Therefore it is
imperative that Anthroposophists today work consciously to strengthen their moral forces
using the subsidiary exercises and the eight-fold path given by Rudolf Steiner for we may
not run away from the future and from technology. We must instead become aware and
work to strengthen ourselves.

Suffering will occur in the social life as a result, for all efforts will be made by the
powers of opposition to prevent human beings from coming together in groups,
especially those who wish to work in the name of ‘Self Transformation’. However, if the
soul life is strengthened these powers of opposition will not be victorious. If this
strengthening does not occur, and if knowledge is taken up without sufficient attention
being paid to the moral life it will be a dark hour of the soul for communities devoted to
spiritual development for the inward battle waged in thinking feeling and willing may
become an outward battle between human beings in these communities, a kind of ‘war of
all against all’. This will strengthen the collective double that belongs to the
Anthroposophical society created by the doubt, hatred and fear that dwells in the inner
recesses of the soul of the individual.
Therefore it is necessary that Faith, Love and Hope be developed even to the smallest
degree if the Christ Impulse is to make its descent into the three soul sheaths so that work
can begin to ennoble this collective double that prevents us from coming together, for
Rudolf Steiner tells us that the future will be a social one and the only thing that will
sustain humanity is the power of groups that gather together in the name of Christ.

Doubt in the spirit, hatred of the Spirit and Fear of the spirit will need to be conquered by
the society and by individuals in the 5th epoch if Anthroposophists are to prevent a
strengthening of fallen forces which will contribute to creating and strengthening the
physical Etheric and Astral bodies of Ahriman and enabling through him, the incarnation
of the Antichrist through whom works Sorath.

Ahriman will incarnate into a physical body, Ahrimanic powers have been preparing the
evolution of humanity in such a way that it can fall a prey to Ahriman when he appears in
human form, but the strength of his influence on humanity will rely on whether we
undertake the tasks set before us individually and as a community.

The Individual Tasks of every Anthroposophist in the 5th Epoch:

§ To have Faith in the spirit - faith in knowledge of the spirit. This means that we must
have faith that spiritual experiences did not die with Rudolf Steiner, that healthy spiritual
experiences can and will be the possession of more and more of its members, since this
was after all the intentions of Rudolf Steiner.
§ To have Love for earnest striving towards the spirit. That means we must also have
love for the spiritual work of others. Love for the effort made by those who are striving
for the fire of knowledge. Tolerance of the viewpoints of others and compassion for those
who are undergoing their own ‘dark night’ of the soul by grappling with their own
demons, even when this impacts on us. For it is our task in this fifth age to breathe into
ourselves the evil of our brother and to breathe out from ourselves our love for them as
the true Manichean ideal in the same way a plant breathes in poison and breathes out pure
life giving oxygen (the mystery of Sacrifice).
§ To have the courage borne of knowledge of the spirit to;

1. Speak out concerning those things that we have acquired as fruits of our own spiritual
endeavours for it is only by communicating with each other that we learn and teach one
another. It is only by communicating our spiritual experiences that they cease to be our
egocentric possessions.
2. Seek to honestly change through self-knowledge , true self-knowledge. For it is only
self-knowledge that allows us to know and understand our own demons, for unless we
know our own demons we may mistake them for the demons of others!

The Task of Anthroposophy in the 5th Epoch :

1. To awaken mankind to the spiritual nature of the human being

2. To teach concerning the mystery of Golgotha and the Cosmic Christ
3. To recognise and redeem Evil
4. To build the new social forms for the future

We live in a time when such tasks must be undertaken by individual people guided as
they are by their Angels, working within groups guided by Archangels in an epoch that
stands under the guidance of a Spirit of the times - an Archai - Michael. Over and above
which stands the cosmic Christ.

So we must continue to work together, understanding, loving and encouraging each other,
even if at first we fall and make mistakes and watch others fall and make mistakes. It is
not always possible to avoid mistakes as it is not always possible to avoid falling when
you take that first step, but where there is love there is tolerance forgiveness and
compassion and the fall can lead to a further attempt this time more assured. We must
prevent our spiritual groups, our society from becoming rigid, from living in an
atmosphere of doubt, hatred and fear of the spiritual itself, relying only on what is written
and handed down from the past, neglecting to imagine possibilities, rejecting an
enlivening of the heart and a strengthening of the will. For this will have strengthen our
own doubles and collective double which will contribute to that great Ahrimanic sub
suprahuman double that will find its incarnation in the not too distant future and will
prepare the way for the Antichrist and Sorath.

However if our spiritual groups manage to raise themselves to their task in the 5th post
Atlantean epoch, of preparing for the sixth by cultivating the beginnings of the three great
virtues then there shall be a renewed Whitsuntide - a resurrection in the heart of the living
Christ as the spiritual sun of redemption in the ego in the 6th Epoch, for Christ himself
will be there in every person and in the midst of the group to cast His word into such
gatherings. And through Christ’s descent will there be a possibility for redeeming and for
overcoming every difficulty (this is especially true of the society itself as a living being).

It is at this time, during lent and Easter that it is especially possible to experience the
penetration of the Christ impulse into our human sheaths into our Astral body as the
power of faith, into our Etheric body as the power of love and in our physical body as the
power of hope. Christ stands side by side with us at this time as our brother, waiting for
us, in freedom to allow him entry into our body soul and spirit – ‘Behold I stand at the
door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him.’

I leave you with Rudolf Steiner’s words.

“The whole purpose of spiritual science is to prepare in this sense for the sixth epoch of
culture. We try to cultivate spiritual science in order to overcome materialism, to prepare
the kind of science that must exist in that epoch. We found communities of human beings
within which there must be no dogmatic beliefs or any tendency to accept teaching
simply because it emanates from one person or another. We found communities of human
beings in which everything, without exception, must be built upon the soul's free assent
to the teachings. Herein we prepare what spiritual science calls freedom of thought. By
coming together in friendly associations for the purpose of cultivating spiritual science,
we prepare the culture, the civilization of the sixth post-Atlantean epoch.”
….and
“We may therefore picture to ourselves that by uniting in brotherliness in working
groups, something hovers invisibly over our work, something that is like the child of the
forces of the spirit self — the spirit self that is nurtured by the beings of the higher
hierarchies in order that it may stream down into our souls when they are again on earth
in the sixth epoch of civilization. In our groups we perform work that streams upward to
those forces that are being prepared for the spirit self.”